United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that the Congress and the States shall have power to prohibit the act of physical desecration of the U.S. flag and to set criminal penalties for such act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Proclaims the English language to be the official language of the United States. Prohibits the United States or any State from requiring the use of any other language. Declares that this article shall not prohibit educational instruction in a language other than English for the purpose of making students proficient in English. Authorizes the Congress and the States to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 1991
Employee Educational Assistance Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the income tax exclusion of amounts paid under employee educational assistance programs. (Under current law the exclusion expires for taxable years beginning after December 31, 1991.)
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Budget Process Reform Act - Title I: Statement of Congressional Purpose - Declares that the purpose of this Act is to facilitate rational, informed, and timely decisions by the Congress. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal budget process should focus the attention of policymakers and the public on the aggregate impact of Federal spending on the economy, and on the tradeoffs that must be made among priorities in order to control overall levels of spending. Declares that the budget process should contain safeguards against delay and inaction, so that temporary shut-downs of the Government may be avoided. Title II: Binding Budget Law - Requires the Congress to enact a binding budget law, in the form of a joint resolution, by April 15 of the calendar year before that in which the fiscal period commences. Requires the budget law to fit on a single page, which sets forth specific budget ceilings in major functional categories. Makes it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any spending bill affecting spending in a major functional category unless and until a joint resolution on the budget is enacted. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to prohibit baseline budgeting. Requires the budget to include comparisons of current fiscal year and proposed subsequent fiscal year spending. Requires the President to submit to the Congress on or before the fifteenth day after a joint resolution on the budget is enacted a detailed budget for the fiscal period beginning on October 1 of the current calendar year. Title III: Enforcement Mechanics - Subtitle A: Supermajority Required to Break Budget Law - Requires a two-thirds majority vote in the House and the Senate to consider any spending bill prior to the enactment of the budget law. Requires the Congressional Budget Office to provide to the Congress an estimate of the costs in each major functional category of any spending bill as soon as practicable after its introduction. Limits such estimates to those bills likely to result in costs of more than $10,000,000. Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House and the Senate to consider over-budget spending bills. Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House and the Senate to waive any provision of this Act. Subtitle B: Limited Enhanced Rescission Authority - Amends the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to limit the President's rescission authority to spending that is above the limits of the budget law. Subtitle C: "Blank Check" Appropriations Prohibited - Declares the intent of the Congress to end open-ended, "blank check" appropriations which typically authorize spending "such sums as may be necessary." Requires fixed-dollar appropriations for every account except social security and interest on the debt. Prohibits open-ended appropriations. Requires Executive agencies to adjust benefit levels to ensure that appropriations for entitlement programs are not exceeded. Restricts budget authority and entitlement authority to one fiscal period. Subtitle D: "Pay As You Go" Requirement for New Spending - Prohibits the Congress from considering any legislation which exceeds the budget ceiling unless it offsets such increased spending with an equal amount of reductions. Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House and the Senate to waive such prohibition. Title IV: Sustaining Mechanism - Makes appropriations to provide for an automatic continuing resolution if for any account an appropriation for a fiscal period does not become law before the beginning of such period. Restricts legislation providing funding to the Committees on Appropriations. Title V: Protection of Social Security - Provides that no reduction in benefits under title II of the Social Security Act (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) shall be made as a consequence of this Act. Title VI: Timetable - Revises the timetable for the congressional budget process. Title VII: Conforming Amendments - Makes various technical and conforming amendments, including changing references to a concurrent resolution on the budget to references to a joint resolution on the budget. Title VIII: Definitions and Rules of Interpretation - Sets forth definitions for specified terms. Title IX: Effective Date - Declares the effective date of this Act to be January 1, 1993, applicable to fiscal years beginning after September 30, 1993. Applies to FY 1993 certain provisions of Federal law, including the Congressional Budget Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends Federal law to prohibit any State from imposing an income tax on the pension income of any individual who is not a resident or domiciliary of that State.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to remove the limitation on the amount of outside income which a beneficiary may earn without incurring a reduction in benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Repeals provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 that restrict the types of scholarships and fellowship grants that may be excluded from gross income for income tax purposes. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax deduction for interest on a qualified educational loan incurred to pay the educational expenses of the taxpayer, spouse, or dependent. Eliminates the current requirement that such indebtedness be secured by an interest in real property.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Economic Growth and Venture Capital Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the individual and corporate capital gains rate from 34 percent to 15 percent. Reduces such tax to 7.5 percent for low- and middle-income taxpayers. Requires indexing, based on the gross national product deflator, of the adjusted basis of certain assets (corporate stock and tangible property that is a capital asset of property used in a trade or business) that have been held for more than one year at the time of sale or other transfer, solely for the purpose of determining gain or loss. Provides for indexing the limitation on capital losses of noncorporate taxpayers.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of a first-time homebuyer the amount of any individual retirement plan distributions used within 30 days to purchase, construct, or reconstruct a principal residence. Reduces a residence's basis by the amount of such distribution for purposes of determining gain or loss upon disposition.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Inflation Tax Relief Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require indexing, based on the gross national product deflator, of the adjusted basis of certain assets (corporate stock and tangible property that is a capital asset of property used in a trade or business) that have been held for more than one year at the time of sale or other transfer, solely for the purpose of determining gain or loss.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 1991 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to grant the President legislative line item veto rescission authority. Authorizes the President to rescind all or part of any budget authority if the President determines that such rescission: (1) would help balance the Federal budget, reduce the Federal budget deficit, or reduce the public debt; (2) will not impair any essential Government functions; and (3) will not harm the national interest. Requires the President to notify the Congress of such a rescission by: (1) special message not later than 20 calendar days after enactment of appropriations legislation; or (2) special message accompanying the budget when such rescissions have not been proposed previously for that fiscal year. Makes such a rescission effective unless the Congress, during a review period of 20 calendar days, enacts a rescission disapproval bill. Describes: (1) information to be included in the President's message; and (2) procedures to govern consideration of rescission disapproval legislation in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Western North Carolina Wilderness Protection Act of 1991 - Designates the Lost Cove Wilderness and the Harper Creek Wilderness in the Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Language of Government Act of 1991 - Declares English to be the official language of the U.S. Government. States that the Government has an affirmative obligation to preserve and enhance the role of English as the official language. Prohibits anyone from being denied Government services because they communicate in English. Prohibits a Government entity from making or enforcing an official act requiring the use of a language other than English. Deems anyone discriminated against for communicating to the Government in English to have been discriminated against on the basis of national origin. Makes available to a person so discriminated against all lawful remedies available under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
National Commemorative Advisory Act - Establishes the President's Advisory Commission on National Commemoratives to: (1) establish criteria for recommending to the President that a proposed national observance be approved or disapproved; (2) review proposals for national observances submitted in accordance with procedures published by the Commission; and (3) issue recommendations to the President concerning each proposal reviewed.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a 100 percent tax on income from frozen Iraqi assets. Authorizes the President to modify such tax if the armed forces of Iraq withdraw from Kuwait within the time and in the manner determined by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Family Education Assistance Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual income tax deduction for contributions to a savings account established to pay the educational expenses (tuition, supplies, meals, and lodging) of the taxpayer's child or certain other relatives at an institution of higher education or a vocational school. Limits the deduction to $1,500 annually (adjusted for inflation) for each account. Disallows the deduction for contributions to an account maintained for any individual aged 19 or older. Requires any account balance to be distributed after the beneficiary attains age 30. Permits an exclusion from the gross income of the contributor or the beneficiary of account distributions used to pay educational expenses of the latter. Exempts an account from taxation (except for the tax on unrelated business income of a charitable organization), unless a contributor or the beneficiary engages in specified prohibited transactions in connection with it. Imposes a ten percent surtax on distributions not used for educational purposes. Requires the account trustee to report to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the account's beneficiary concerning the account. Imposes a penalty for failure to report. Allows taxpayers who do not otherwise itemize deductions to deduct for contributions to an education savings account. Imposes penalty taxes in connection with excess contributions or prohibited transactions associated with an account.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits a person who has been elected to: (1) the Senate two times from being eligible for election or appointment to the Senate; and (2) the House of Representatives six times from being eligible for election to the House.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to contract with a private entity for the random mandatory testing of House Members for the illegal use of controlled substances. Outlines the procedures for conducting such drug testing, which include providing the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct with the results of such tests. Directs the Committee to take action under House rules in the case of positive test results.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Demands that the Iraqi Government: (1) comply fully with specified United Nations Security Council resolutions concerning Iraq's aggression against Kuwait; (2) withdraw from Kuwait; and (3) be responsible for all financial losses resulting from the invasion. Commends the President for his actions in responding to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and threat to the region. Supports U.N. Security Council Resolution 678 regarding the use of "all necessary means" to uphold and implement such other U.N. resolutions, should Iraq fail to withdraw from Kuwait on or before January 15, 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1990
Budget Process Reform Act - Title I: Statement of Congressional Purpose - Declares that the purpose of this Act is to facilitate rational, informed, and timely decisions by the Congress. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal budget process should focus the attention of policymakers and the public on the aggregate impact of Federal spending on the economy, and on the tradeoffs that must be made among priorities in order to control overall levels of spending. Declares that the budget process should contain safeguards against delay and inaction, so that temporary shut-downs of the Government may be avoided. Title II: Binding Budget Law - Requires the Congress to enact a binding budget law, in the form of a joint resolution, by April 15 of the calendar year before that in which the fiscal period commences. Requires the budget law to fit on a single page, which sets forth specific budget ceilings in major functional categories. Makes it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any spending bill affecting spending in a major functional category unless and until a joint resolution on the budget is enacted. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to prohibit baseline budgeting. Requires the budget to include comparisons of current fiscal year and proposed subsequent fiscal year spending. Title III: Enforcement Mechanisms - Subtitle A: Super majority Required to Break Budget Law - Requires a two-thirds majority vote in the House and the Senate to consider any spending bill prior to the enactment of the budget law. Requires the Congressional Budget Office to provide to the Congress an estimate of the costs in each major functional category of any spending bill as soon as practicable after its introduction. Limits such estimates to those bills likely to result in costs of more than $10,000,000. Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House and the Senate to consider over-budget spending bills. Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House and the Senate to waive any provision of this Act. Subtitle B: Limited Enhanced Rescission Authority - Amends the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to limit the President's rescission authority to spending that is above the limits of the budget law. Subtitle C: "Blank Check" Appropriations Prohibited - Declares the intent of the Congress to end open-ended, "blank check" appropriations which typically authorize spending "such sums as may be necessary." Requires fixed-dollar appropriations for every account except social security and interest on the debt. Prohibits open-ended appropriations. Requires Executive agencies to adjust benefit levels to ensure that appropriations for entitlement programs are not exceeded. Subtitle D: "Pay As You Go" Requirement for New Spending - Prohibits the Congress from considering any legislation which exceeds the budget ceiling unless it offsets such increased spending with an equal amount of reductions. Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House and the Senate to waive such prohibition. Title IV: Sustaining Mechanism - Makes appropriations to provide for an automatic continuing resolution if for any account an appropriation for a fiscal period does not become law before the beginning of such period. Restricts legislation providing funding to the Committees on Appropriations. Title V: Protection of Social Security - Provides that no reduction in benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act shall be made as a consequence of this Act. Title VI: Timetable - Revises the timetable for the congressional budget process. Title VII: Conforming Amendments - Makes various technical and conforming amendments, including changing references to a concurrent resolution on the budget to references to a joint resolution on the budget. Title VIII: Definitions and Rules of Interpretation - Sets forth definitions for specified terms. Title IX: Effective Date - Declares the effective date of this Act to be January 1, 1991, applicable to fiscal years beginning after September 30, 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1990
Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to establish in the Treasury the Textile Machinery Modernization Fund. Appropriates to such fund revenues from customs duties imposed on textile machinery and parts imported into the United States for grants to qualified organizations for research projects for the modernization of the U.S. textile machinery industry.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1990
Jobs, Growth, and Competitiveness Act of 1990 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reinstate the ten-percent investment tax credit for property used as an integral part of manufacturing, production, or extraction or of furnishing transportation, communications, electrical energy, gas, water, waste disposal, or pollution control services. Allows such tax credit to offset 100 percent of certain corporation's minimum tax.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 1990
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should declare November 2, 1990, a national day of prayer for: (1) members of American military forces and American citizens stationed or held hostage in the Middle East, and for their families; and (2) American and Iraqi authorities to bring about a just resolution of the Persian Gulf crisis.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 1990
Salutes and congratulates the people of Poland as they commemorate the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Polish Constitution on May 3, 1991. Directs the Library of Congress to commemorate the anniversary with appropriate ceremonies.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1990
Four Percent Solution Budget Act - Title I: The Four Percent Solution - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to impose a a four-percent cap on increases in outlays from the preceding year. Extends certain provisions and the terminating date of such Act through FY 1997 (currently, FY 1993). Excludes receipts and disbursements of the Resolution Trust Corporation from the budget deficit or any other totals of the budget. Amends the Congressional Budget Act to adjust the allowable maximum deficit amounts until there is a zero deficit in FY 1997. Requires the President to issue a midyear sequester on March 15 necessary to meet deficit and outlay targets. Requires the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget to make specified preliminary reports to the President before the issuance of such sequester. Title II: Preparation of the Budget - Amends Federal law to revise required budget contents with respect to estimated expenditures and proposed appropriations for the current fiscal year and the next fiscal year. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the starting point for deliberations in the Committees on the Budget in the House of Representatives and in the Senate on the concurrent resolution on the budget for the next fiscal year to be the estimated level of outlays for the current year in each function and subfunction. Revises content requirements for the report accompanying such resolution. Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to include in the report to the Budget Committees the estimated budget outlays in all functions and subfunctions for appropriated accounts for the current fiscal year and estimated budget outlays under current law for all entitlement programs for the next fiscal year. Title III: Pay-As-You-Go Budget - Prohibits the concurrent resolution on the budget from causing: (1) total budget outlays (excluding outlays of the Resolution Trust Corporation) to exceed the outlays target for that fiscal year; and (2) the recommended level of Federal revenues (excluding revenues of the Corporation) to be less than the recommended level of Federal revenues for the preceding fiscal year (excluding revenues of the Corporation). Prohibits a concurrent resolution on the budget from: (1) providing for an outlay excess in a functional category unless it provides for a decrease in budget outlays in another functional category; or (2) providing for a reduction in the recommended level of Federal revenues below that set forth in the most recently agreed to concurrent resolution on the budget for the preceding year, unless it provides for a reduction in budget outlays below the appropriate level established for the preceding year. Allows a waiver of such prohibitions by a three-fifths vote of each House of Congress. Makes it out of order in the Senate and in the House to consider a concurrent resolution under which the recommended level of revenues for a fiscal year exceeds the appropriate level of total budget outlays for that fiscal year unless the resolution specifies the purposes for which the excess revenues are to be allocated. Makes conforming amendments to Federal law with respect to the President's budget.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1990
Authorizes the President, in order to protect health and safety of human life, to decrease the sequester amounts specified in the order issued August 25, 1990, under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Requires an increase in the sequester amount in other accounts, programs, projects, or activities to the extent amounts were decreased in such order.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1990
Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to subject the pay of the Vice President, Members of Congress, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and heads of cabinet departments of the executive branch to sequestration. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President forgo pay equal to the percentage reduction in effect under an order relating to the budget account for the Office of the President.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1990
Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to subject the pay of Members of Congress to sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 1990
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) other countries that benefit from a secure supply of Persian Gulf oil or whose sovereignty the United States is committed to upholding should assume a proportionate share of the cost of the deployment of U.S. military forces in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf region; (2) the Congress supports the President in his effort to request appropriate levels of assistance or reimbursement from such countries to defray deployment costs; and (3) the President should make it an ongoing priority to request such assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1990
Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to contract with a private entity for the random mandatory testing of House Members for the illegal use of controlled substances. Outlines the procedures for conducting such drug testing, which include providing the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct with the results of such tests. Directs the Committee to take action under House rules in the case of positive test results.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1990
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to raise from $5,000,000 to $25,000,000 the threshold amount of tax-exempt bonds that a small governmental unit may issue and still remain within the exception from arbitrage rebate requirements. Makes the exception from such rebate for construction bonds effective as if included under the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Permits elections concerning such bonds to be made until 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. States that any rebates paid shall not be refunded. Increases from $10,000,000 to $25,000,000 the amount of tax-exempt obligations excepted from the pro rata allocation of interest expense of financial institutions to tax-exempt interest for qualified small issuers. Repeals the five percent unrelated and disproportionate private use rules for private activity bonds. Provides that a bond shall not be treated as an arbitrage bond by reason of any failure to meet any requirements of temporary period investments if all earnings which would cause such bond to be an arbitrage bond are paid to the United States by the issuer by the required due dates. Reduces from 100 percent to 95 percent the amount of arbitrage to be rebated to the United States if certain State and local bonds are not to be treated as arbitrage bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1990
Provides that the rate of pay of Members of Congress, judicial officers, and Executive Schedule positions shall be that in effect as of November 1, 1989. Repeals provisions of the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 which provided for a 25 percent salary increase beginning in 1991 for legislative, judicial, and Executive Schedule positions. States that nothing in this Act shall have the effect of reducing the pay of any individual whose compensation may not, under certain provisions of the U.S. Constitution, be diminished during such individual's continuance in office. Continues the current adjustment method.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1990
Western North Carolina Wilderness Protection Act of 1990 - Designates the Lost Cove Wilderness and the Harper Creek Wilderness in the Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1990
Financial Crimes Prosecution and Recovery Act of 1990 as Reported By the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives - Title I: Enhanced Criminal Penalties - Amends Federal criminal law to establish criminal penalties (including imprisonment) for the concealment of assets from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (acting as conservator or receiver) and the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) acting as conservator or receiver. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to prohibit certain felons convicted of dishonesty or breach of trust from controlling or participating in the affairs of a depository institution for a minimum ten-year period. Amends Federal criminal law to establish criminal penalties (including imprisonment) for obstructing any examination of a financial institution. Increases to 30 years (currently, 20 years) the maximum prison term for bank fraud and embezzlement. Establishes a ten-year statute of limitations for the prosecution of racketeering offenses involving financial institutions. Extends money laundering prohibitions to include funds from specified bank crimes. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to promulgate guidelines for increased penalties for certain bank crime convictions in which the defendant derived more than $1,000,000 in gross receipts from the offense. Provides for restoration of forfeited property and for restitution to bank crime victims. Sets forth maximum criminal fines and minimum imprisonment terms for certain continuing financial crime enterprises (i.e., certain violations committed by at least four persons acting in concert). Title II: Protecting Assets from Wrongful Disposition - Authorizes the Attorney General to obtain a court order enjoining or restraining the alienation of disposition of property obtained as a result of a banking law violation. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to set forth attachment procedures. Amends Federal bankruptcy law to provide that the trustee shall be deemed to have assumed a debtor's commitment to a Federal depository institution regulatory agency to maintain the capital of an insured depository institution (thus precluding the trustee from rejecting such commitment as an executory contract which can be avoided as a discharge in bankruptcy). Exempts a Federal depository institution regulatory agency acting as conservator for an insured depository institution from the requirement of proving reasonable reliance upon a false writing supplied by a debtor who is an institution-affiliated party. Prohibits a discharge in bankruptcy for debts resulting from the debtor's failure to fulfill a commitment to a Federal financial institution regulatory agency to maintain the capital of an insured depository institution. Exempts a Federal depository institution regulatory agency acting as conservator for an insured depository institution from the requirement of a timely nondischargeability request (including notice and hearing) when seeking to recover a debt relating to malfeasance. Declares that for specified cases of deceitful conduct, any institution-affiliated party of an insured depository institution (or credit union) shall be deemed to have been acting in a fiduciary capacity with respect to any debt owed to a Federal banking regulatory agency (thus making such debt nondischargeable in bankruptcy). Makes it a prerequisite of a bankruptcy reorganization plan that the debtor will: (1) maintain any commitment to a Federal banking regulatory agency to maintain the capital of an insured depository institution; and (2) continue to be obligated for any debt to such agency for failure to fulfill such commitment. Makes certain debts owed by an institution-affiliated party to an insured depository institution under Federal receivership nondischargeable under a consumer debt bankruptcy plan. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to empower the FDIC (acting as conservator) to avoid fraudulent conveyances by a debtor institution-affiliated party. Prohibits an insured depository institution which does not meet minimum Federal capitalization requirements from making golden parachute payments, covered benefit payments, or certain payments in anticipation of insolvency to an institution-affiliated party without prior written Federal agency approval. Cites conditions under which insured depository institutions may make golden parachute payments and covered benefits payments with FDIC approval. Amends the Federal criminal code to revise civil and criminal forfeiture guidelines for: (1) property affecting a financial institution; and (2) fraudulent offenses involving the sale of assets held by Federal banking regulatory agencies. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to prohibit certain convicted felony debtors whose default to an insured financial institution in receivership will cause substantial loss from acquiring any asset of the institution (except with respect to repayment). Title III: Improved Procedures for Handling Banking-Related Cases - Amends Federal criminal law to authorize wiretaps for bank fraud and related offenses. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to set forth reciprocal assistance guidelines for foreign investigations by Federal banking agencies and investigations on behalf of foreign banking authorities. Amends the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) to extend to ten years (currently, five years) the statute of limitations for commencing a civil action for Federal bank law violations. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the National Credit Union Act to grant the FDIC, the RTC, and the NCUA subpoena authority. Title IV: Structural Reforms to Improve the Federal Response to Crimes Affecting Financial Institutions - Establishes within the Office of the Deputy Attorney General in the Department of Justice a Financial Institutions Fraud Unit, headed by a Special Counsel who shall report directly to the Deputy Attorney General. Terminates such Office five years after enactment of this Act. Empowers the Special Counsel to investigate and prosecute criminal activity involving the financial services industry. Directs the Attorney General to establish: (1) financial institutions fraud task forces; and (2) a senior interagency group to assist in identifying the most significant financial institution fraud cases, to allocate investigative and prosecutorial resources, and to expedite interagency coordination and prosecution of financial institutions fraud. Amends Federal criminal law to authorize the Secret Service (under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury) to detect and arrest persons who violate banking laws with respect to financial institutions and the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC). Title V: Reporting Requirements - Directs the Attorney General to report quarterly to the Congress regarding financial institution crimes. Requires the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to present annual statistical tables to the Congress on the business imposed on the Federal courts by the savings and loan crisis. Title VI: National Commission on Financial Institution Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement - Establishes the National Commission on Financial Institution Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement to make investigations and recommendations regarding specified aspects of the savings and loan crisis. Requires the Commission to submit a final report to the President and the Congress within one year after enactment of this Act. Terminates the Commission 30 days after the submission of such final report. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Authorizations - Amends the FIRREA to authorize appropriations to the Attorney General and the Federal Court System for bank crime cases.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1990
Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for a study and report to the Congress on: (1) mechanisms for supporting training in the environmental sciences and environmental research through an umbrella research arm, the National Institutes of the Environment, considering research in a wide variety of disciplines; (2) the current state of extramural research support and undergraduate and graduate training relevant to tropical deforestation, species extinction, ecosystem degradation, biological restoration, use of underutilized resources and sustainable resource use, economic consequences of environmental change, and the impacts of humans and the environment on one another; and (3) mechanisms that can be used to advance environmental research and training, their relationship to existing research programs, and appropriate levels and resources of funding. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 1990
Prohibits the receipts and disbursements of the Highway Trust Fund (for both the Federal Aid Highway program and the Mass Transit Account) and the Airport and Airway Trust Fund which are allocable to the transportation-related operations of such Funds from being included in either the Federal budget as submitted by the President, or in the congressional budget. Exempts such trust funds from any general statutory budget limitation. Amends the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982 to require the Secretary of Transportation to estimate: (1) the amount of unfunded aviation authorizations at the close of the next fiscal year; and (2) the net aviation receipts for the 24-month period beginning at the close of such fiscal year. Prescribes adjustment procedures for certain unfunded aviation authorizations and for aviation apportionments. Requires the Secretary to report such estimates to specified congressional committees. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to exempt specified Airport and Airway Trust Fund and Highway Trust Fund activities from any sequestration order issued under a certain section of the Act. Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to: (1) exclude receipts and disbursements allocable to transportation-related operations of the Funds in calculating the Federal budget deficit; and (2) prohibit the Congress from considering specified changes to such Funds.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1990
Prohibits U.S. assistance to Malaysia. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct U.S. executive directors of the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the International Development Association to oppose all loans to such country. Denies nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) to Malaysia. Authorizes the President to waive such prohibitions if Malaysia: (1) agrees to be a country of first asylum to those persons fleeing Vietnam by boat; and (2) terminates the practice of pushing asylum seekers back out to sea.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1990
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the memory of Walt Disney should be honored on the 35th anniversary of his contribution to the American dream (the opening of Disneyland).
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1990
Financial Crimes Prosecution and Recovery Act of 1990 - Title I: National Commission on Financial Crimes - Establishes the National Commission on Financial Crimes to investigate fraud and abuse in the financial services industry and to recommend procedures for improving interagency cooperation and tactics for law enforcement officers in the investigation and prosecution of financial crimes. Sets forth provisions with respect to the membership, powers, pay, reporting requirements, and termination of the Commission. Title II: Improvements in Administration of the Department of Justice - Directs the Attorney General to establish a financial crimes strike force in each Federal judicial district which is in the top quartile of such districts with respect to the total number of criminal referrals filed with the Attorney General by the appropriate Federal banking agencies relating to residents of, or persons located in, such district. Provides for local control of each such strike force, through the U.S. Attorney for such district, except as otherwise provided by the Attorney General. Sets forth provisions regarding pay for attorneys on financial crimes strike forces. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish a merit system to recognize and reward outstanding efforts of individuals engaged in the investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; (2) prohibit any U.S. attorney or any other attorney employed by the Department of Justice from taking into account the dollar amount of any loss incurred in connection with any financial crime in making a determination with respect to the investigation or prosecution of such crime; and (3) prescribe by regulation that the investigation of any referral from an appropriate Federal banking agency related to a financial crime involving an insured depository institution in default or in danger of default, or of any troubled institution, be given priority in case management. Amends the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 to make specified civil money penalties collected under such Act available to the Attorney General to carry out any provision of law. Amends the Federal criminal code to grant specified officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigation administrative subpoena authority regarding specified financial crimes. Sets forth provisions: (1) with respect to standards governing production of items subpoenaed; and (2) granting persons complying in good faith with a summons or order issued under this Act and producing the materials sought immunity from civil liability to the consumer for such production or nondisclosure of such production. Title III: Improvements in the Administration of the FDIC and the RTC - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) to grant subpoena authority to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) as a conservator or receiver or for carrying out authority with respect to an insured depository institution. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to grant the FDIC and the RTC access to Internal Revenue Service returns and return information upon written requests by the respective Board of Directors and upon certification by the Board that it has a substantial need for such returns or return information. Amends the FDIA to authorize Federal banking agencies, in conducting any investigation, examination, or enforcement action under such Act, to: (1) request the assistance of any foreign banking authority; (2) maintain an office outside the United States for such purposes; (3) provide assistance to a foreign banking authority, upon request, if the requesting authority is conducting an investigation involving a violation of laws or regulations relating to banking matters that the requesting authority administers or enforces; and (4) conduct such an investigation as is necessary to collect information and evidence pertinent to such a request without regard to whether the facts stated in the request also constitute a violation of U.S. law. Authorizes the FDIC and the RTC, as conservator or receiver of any insured depository institution, to request the assistance of any foreign banking authority and provide assistance to any such authority in accordance with this Act. Requires the FDIC and the RTC to each maintain a permanent office to coordinate foreign investigations or investigations on behalf of foreign banking authorities. Authorizes the Board of Directors of the FDIC to act in its own name and through its own attorneys in any action or proceeding in which the FDIC is an interested party, whether in its corporate capacity or as conservator or receiver for any insured depository institution. Grants priority to the FDIC over certain claims or actions filed or begun against an affiliated party of the insured depository institution by depositors, creditors, or shareholders of the institution after enactment of this Act. Authorizes the FDIC, as conservator or receiver for any insured depository institution, to avoid any transfer of interest of an institution-affiliated party or any transfer of interest or obligation of person determined to be a debtor of the institution that was made within five years of appointment of the FDIC as conservator or receiver, if such party made such transfer or incurred such liability with intent to hinder, delay, or defraud the insured depository institution. Specifies circumstances under which the FDIC may recover the property transferred or the value of such property. Sets forth provisions regarding prejudgment attachments of assets where an institution-affiliated party may be required to provide restitution to the institution or where the party is a debtor of the institution, and where the assets will be dissipated or otherwise placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court or FDIC before any recovery may be completed unless a trustee is appointed. Establishes criminal penalties for knowingly concealing assets or property from the FDIC or the RTC as a conservator or receiver for any insured depository institution. Requires each Federal banking agency to require directors of depository institutions to complete an educational course on their duties as directors every three years. Authorizes a court or the Attorney General to direct disclosures of matters occurring before a grand jury during an investigation of a banking law violation to identified personnel of a financial institution regulatory agency upon a finding of substantial need, subject to specified conditions. Excludes the payment of restitution under specified Acts including the FDIA from discharge under bankruptcy provisions. Amends the Federal criminal code to subject to civil forfeiture property which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to mail fraud, or fraud by wire, radio, or television, affecting a financial institution. Amends the FDIA, the Federal Credit Union Act, the Revised Statutes, the Federal Reserve Act, the Bank Holding Company Acts of 1956 and 1970, and the Home Owners' Loan Act to permit the appropriate Federal banking agency, the FDIC, or, in the case of the latter statute, the Director, to apply to specified courts to recover from a depository institution administrative costs arising out of actions taken to recover a civil penalty. Title IV: Taxpayer Recovery Act - Taxpayer Recovery Act of 1990 - Makes an exception to a discharge in bankruptcy for: (1) restitution that the debtor has been ordered to pay by a State or Federal court in any criminal proceeding arising from an act that caused a loss to any bank, savings association, or credit union (bank); or (2) damages provided in any judgment, order, or consent decree entered in any State or Federal court, or in any settlement agreement entered into by the debtor, arising from any act involving fraud or reckless disregard for the law committed with respect to any such institution. Requires that any individual acting as a director, officer, or institution-affiliated party of a bank be considered to be acting in a fiduciary capacity with respect to such institution for purposes of a provision making an exception to a discharge from bankruptcy involving fraud or defalcation while acting in such capacity. Specifies that reliance by a creditor will not be required to establish an exception to discharge if the creditor is a financial regulatory agency that is a successor to a bank. Sets forth time limits for the filing of a complaint objecting to the discharge of a debt owed to: (1) a bank that is closed, is in receivership or conservatorship, or is sold to another bank in a transaction assisted by a financial regulatory agency; or (2) such an agency. Specifies that an individual debtor who has committed an act involving fraud or reckless disregard for the law or is subsequently adjudicated to have committed such an act during the pendency of his bankruptcy proceeding with respect to any bank that is in receivership or conservatorship or that is sold to another bank assisted by a financial regulatory agency shall not be exempt from: (1) more than $7,500 in value of the debtor's aggregate interest in any real property that the debtor uses as a residence: and (2) the debtor's interest in any insurance policy or annuity.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1990
Violent Crime and Drug Control Act of 1990 - Title I: Effective Rehabilitation - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require States to develop and submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services annually for review and approval a Statewide Drug Treatment Plan. Requires States to maintain expenditures for drug abuse-related services at a level equal to not less than the average amount of such expenditures for the preceding two years, unless the Secretary determines that extraordinary conditions in the State (currently, limited to economic conditions) justify the waiver. Directs the Secretary to promulgate implementing regulations, including the procedures by which a full or partial waiver may be granted. Requires the Secretary of Education to: (1) develop a model curriculum regarding treatment for individuals who are addicted to drugs; and (2) disseminate such curriculum to medical schools. Authorizes appropriations. Bars the Secretary of Health and Human Services from making certain payments under the Alcohol and Drug Abuse and Mental Health Services Block Grant program unless the State: (1) makes specified progress toward setting up a referral system through which individuals seeking drug abuse treatment can be informed of appropriate facilities in the State for obtaining such treatment; and (2) agrees to establish procedures to ensure that newborn infants of drug or alcohol abusing mothers are tested and evaluated for exposure to illegal drugs, to waive civil and criminal liability against qualified health care professionals conducting such test and evaluation in compliance with State-established procedures, and, if the newborn has been exposed to illegal drugs, to ensure that the necessary health care services are immediately made available to the mother and infant. Extends to the Coast Guard coverage under the law providing for identification, treatment, and rehabilitation of members of the armed forces who are dependent on drugs or alcohol. Title II: User Accountability and Drug Paraphernalia Restrictions - Subtitle A: User Accountability - Amends the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 to remove discretion from the courts and thus make mandatory the denial of Federal benefits for a fixed term after a conviction for distribution or possession of a controlled substance. Requires the Office of Management and Budget (currently, the President) to report to the Congress by January 1, 1991 (currently, May 1, 1989) with regard to the withholding of Federal benefits, including a listing of each such benefit for which drug traffickers and possessors will be ineligible. Specifies that the "approved" drug treatment program which an individual convicted of a controlled substance possession offense must successfully complete must be a program chosen by the court. Restricts the allocation and distribution of funds under the Drug Control and System Improvement Grant program to States: (1) that do not have in effect, and which do not enforce, laws requiring the mandatory revocation of the driver's license for at least one year for specified drug offenses and a mandatory denial of requests by such individuals for the issuance or reinstatement of such license; and (2) in which the State legislature has not voted to exempt the State from the operation of such provisions. Allows such State laws, without risking loss of Federal funds under this Act, to provide that the license of a first, but not a subsequent, offender, be reinstated upon performance of three months community service by such offender who passes periodic drug tests during such service. Prohibits the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating from issuing a license, certificate of registry, or merchant mariner's document unless the applicant makes available to the Secretary information contained in the National Driver Register regarding the applicant's driving record. Directs the Secretary to: (1) review the criminal record of such an applicant; and (2) establish a testing program for use of a dangerous drug in violation of law for such applicant for issuance or renewal of a license or certificate of registry. Limits the duration of certificates of registry to five years, subject to renewal for additional five-year periods (currently, unlimited). Makes mariners' documents valid for five years, subject to renewal for additional five-year periods. Requires the Secretary to review the criminal record of applicants for renewal of mariners' documents, licenses, and certificates of registry. Sets forth provisions with respect to termination of existing certificates of registry and merchant mariners' documents. Requires the Secretary to: (1) request a holder of a license, certificate of registry, or merchant mariner's document to make available to the Secretary all information contained in the National Driver Register regarding the motor vehicle driving record of such individual; (2) establish a program for testing the holder of such a license for use of alcohol and dangerous drugs in violation of law; (3) temporarily suspend (subject to a hearing within 15 days) and take possession of the license held by an individual who performs a safety sensitive function on a vessel and where there is probable cause to believe that the individual has performed such function in violation of law, has been convicted of an offense that would prevent the issuance or renewal of the license, or has been convicted within the five-year period of an offense under the National Driver Register Act of 1982 (NDRA). Defines "dangerous drug" to mean a narcotic, controlled substance, or marijuana. Includes among the bases for license suspension or revocation conviction of an offense: (1) that would prevent the issuance or renewal of a license; or (2) under the NDRA within the five-year period preceding the suspension or revocation. Authorizes the termination of a license revocation only after: (1) the Secretary decides that the issuance is compatible with good discipline and safety at sea; and (2) the former holder provides satisfactory proof that the bases for revocation are no longer valid. Sets forth procedures for the removal of a master or individual in charge of a vessel reasonably believed to be under the influence of alcohol or dangerous drugs. Amends the NDRA to: (1) authorize an individual who holds or who has applied for a license to request the chief driver licensing official of a State to transmit to the Secretary information regarding the motor vehicle driving record of the individual; and (2) require the Secretary to make the information available to the individual for review and written comment before denying, suspending, or revoking such license and to keep such information confidential, with exceptions. Bars the transmission of motor vehicle driving record information which was entered in the register more than five years before the date of the request, unless such information relates to revocations or suspensions that are still in effect on the date of the request. Applies penalties for the negligent operation of a vessel while "intoxicated" to negligent operation while "under the influence of alcohol, or a dangerous drug." Subtitle B: Drug Paraphernalia Restrictions - Amends the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 to provide that criminal forfeiture of drug paraphernalia will be accomplished in accordance with procedures applicable to other criminal forfeiture provisions of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Authorizes the Attorney General to bring a civil action and to seek injunctive relief and authorizes the court to assess a civil penalty of up to $100,000 for violations of the paraphernalia statute. Provides for civil forfeiture of drug paraphernalia, other property involved, and property traceable to property involved in a violation of criminal forfeiture provisions. Title III: Interdiction Improvements - Makes it unlawful for the pilot, operator, or person in charge of any aircraft which has crossed the U.S. border or is subject to U.S. jurisdiction operating outside the United States to refuse to obey the order of an authorized Federal law enforcement officer to land in cases involving enforcement of controlled substances or money laundering laws. Sets forth analogous provisions with respect to vessels. Establishes penalties for violation of such provisions. Specifies that any vessel or aircraft used in such a violation may be seized and forfeited. Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to require: (1) revocation of the registration certificate of an aircraft that refuses to land when ordered to do so by a law enforcement officer; and (2) the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to establish procedures for the owner of the aircraft to show cause why the factual predicate did not exist to trigger the revocation of the registration or why it would be in the public interest to issue a new certificate of registration to be effective concurrent with the revocation which occurred by operation of law. Authorizes the Coast Guard to issue orders and make inquiries, searches, seizures, and arrests with respect to violations of U.S. laws occurring aboard any aircraft over the high seas and waters over which the United States has jurisdiction. Specifies the method by which orders to land an aircraft must be communicated. Establishes a civil penalty for failure to comply with a lawful boarding or order to land. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to: (1) authorize U.S. Customs officers to exercise their enforcement authority outside of the United States, including any location in which Customs officers are permitted to conduct inspections, examinations, or searches; and (2) provide civil penalties for failure of an aircraft to comply with customs officer orders to land or bring to and Tariff Act provisions regarding the boarding of vessels. Title IV: International Narcotics Control - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA) to: (1) authorize the President to provide narcotics-related assistance to Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru; and (2) make funds available under such Act and the Arms Export Control Act for training and equipment for law enforcement agencies or other units in such countries organized for the specific purpose of narcotics enforcement. Waives during FY 1991 provisions of the FAA and similar provisions relating to limitations on assistance to countries in default on obligations owed to the United States with respect to narcotics-related assistance for a country which is a major illicit drug-producing country because of its coca production. Authorizes the President to provide assistance under the FAA to promote the production, processing, and marketing of products which can be produced economically in such countries in order to reduce dependence upon the production of crops from which narcotic and psychotropic drugs are derived. Revises certain narcotics-related provisions of the FAA to: (1) authorize the use of funds for international narcotics control for defensive arming of U.S.-title aircraft used in narcotics control eradication or interdiction efforts and for personnel and agents participating in such efforts; and (2) make an exception to the provision requiring the President to withhold 50 percent of the assistance authorized and appropriated for a major drug-producing or drug-transit country pending the March 1 certification of narcotics cooperation if he determines that application of such provision would be contrary to the national interest. Repeals provisions requiring that any aircraft made available to a foreign country be provided only on a lease or loan basis. Permits the assigning of more than six members of the armed forces to Military Assistance Groups in Bolivia and Peru. Continues for FY 1991 the waiver of the requirement under the FAA to withhold 50 percent of annual foreign aid to major drug-transit countries which meet specified requirements, such as cooperation with the United States in achieving anti-narcotics objectives. Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize the Secretary of State to order the surrender to a foreign country of a U.S. citizen whose extradition has been requested by such country even if the terms of the applicable treaty or convention do not obligate the United States to extradite its citizens. Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to extend the Export-Import Bank's authority to finance sales of defense articles and services for anti-narcotics purposes to September 30, 1992 (currently, expires September 30, 1990). Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) practices of foreign governments that condone or permit illicit narcotics production and export are considered damaging to future trade relations with the United States; and (2) the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative should bring the matter of illicit narcotics production and export to the attention of appropriate countries, require foreign countries that tolerate such activities to address their elimination in a serious and effective manner, and consider rewarding foreign countries that make significant strides against drug trafficking with good trade relations with the United States. Title V: Firearms and Related Amendments - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the transfer of firearms to non-residents of the State in which the transferor resides. Provides for the disposition of forfeited firearms. Classifies as serious drug offenses for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984 serious drug offenses committed by juveniles. Specifies that if a conviction was for a violent felony involving the threatened or actual use of a firearm or explosives, or was for a serious drug offense, such person shall be considered convicted for purposes of this Act irrespective of any pardon, setting aside, expunction, or restoration of civil rights. Permits the judicial officer to consider pretrial detention with respect to certain firearms and explosives offenses. Provides for enhanced penalties for: (1) the use of a semiautomatic firearm during a crime of violence or drug trafficking offense, with exceptions; and (2) possession of a firearm or explosive during the commission of such offenses. Makes enhanced penalties inapplicable in the presence of specified mitigating circumstances, unless the defendant engaged or participated in criminal conduct that gave rise to the occasion for the defendant's use of the firearm. Sets forth penalties for smuggling firearms in aid of drug trafficking and for theft of firearms and explosives. Bars the sale or possession of firearms and explosives to or by persons convicted of violent or serious misdemeanor drug or narcotic offenses. Provides for the mandatory revocation of the supervised release of an individual for possession of a firearm. Increases penalties for: (1) making knowingly false, material statements in connection with the acquisition of a firearm from a licensed dealer; and (2) a second offense of using an explosive to commit a Federal felony. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) change from six to five years the statute of limitations for certain firearms offenses; and (2) provide for the summary forfeiture of unregistered National Firearms Act weapons, with provision for reimbursement for innocent owners. Makes it unlawful for felons and others to possess explosives. Authorizes the summary destruction of explosives subject to forfeiture under specified circumstances. Sets forth requirements for reimbursement of the value of destroyed property. Title VI: Death Penalty - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty for Federal crimes. Requires the Government, for any offense punishable by death, to serve notice upon the defendant a reasonable time before trial or acceptance of a plea, that it intends to seek the death penalty and the aggravating factors upon which it will rely. Requires a separate sentencing hearing before a jury, or the court upon motion by the defendant, when the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty to an offense punishable by death. Allows the defendant and the Government to present any information relevant to sentencing, without regard to the rules of evidence, but permits evidence to be excluded where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of creating unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, or misleading the jury. Specifies mitigating factors which the defendant must establish by a preponderance of the information and aggravating factors which the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Sets forth special aggravating factors for: (1) espionage, treason, homicide, and the attempted murder of the President; and (2) drug offenses punishable by the death penalty (such factors include previous serious drug felony convictions, use of a firearm in committing or furthering certain continuing criminal enterprises, use of minors in trafficking, and lethal adulteration of controlled substances.) Directs the court, or the jury by unanimous vote, to impose the death penalty upon a finding of at least one aggravating and no mitigating factor, or one or more aggravating factors which outweigh any mitigating factors. States that no person who was under 18 years of age at the time of the offense may be sentenced to death. Requires the court to instruct the jury not to consider the race, color, national origin, creed, or sex of the defendant or victim in its consideration of the sentence. Establishes procedures for appeal from a death sentence. Requires the court of appeals, upon consideration of the record and the information and procedures of the sentencing hearing, to affirm the decision if: (1) the sentence was not imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor; and (2) the information supports the finding of aggravating factors. Requires the court to provide a written explanation of its determination. Sets forth procedures for the implementation of the sentence of death. Limits the circumstances under which the offense of delivering defense information to aid foreign governments is punishable by death. Provides for the imposition of the death penalty for: (1) murder committed by prisoners in Federal prisons; (2) kidnappings which result in the death of any person; (3) hostage takings which result in the death of any person; (4) attempting to kill the President of the United States (if such attempt results in bodily injury or comes dangerously close to causing the President's death); (5) "murder for hire;" (6) murder in the aid of a racketeering activity; (7) international terrorism (where the killing is a first-degree murder); (8) engaging in a criminal enterprise activity which results in death; (9) specified violations of the CSA, the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act, and the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act; and (10) genocide. Increases the minimum sentence to life imprisonment for the crime of bank robbery which results in death. Provides for appointment of counsel in Federal cases where a defendant is charged with a crime with respect to which a sentence of death is sought and is or becomes financially unable to obtain adequate representation. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to: (1) representation before and after review of judgment; (2) standards for competence of counsel; and (3) claims of ineffectiveness of counsel. Authorizes, in the discretion of the court, appointment of counsel for a petitioner who is or becomes financially unable to afford counsel in Federal habeas corpus proceedings involving State prisoners in capital cases. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) deadlines for collateral attacks on judgments imposing a sentence of death; and (2) stays of execution. Title VII: Criminal Justice System Reform - Subtitle A: Habeas Corpus Proceedings Relating to Death Penalty Cases - Amends the Federal judicial code to set forth special habeas corpus procedures in capital cases. Applies such procedures to Federal habeas corpus cases brought by prisoners in State custody who are subject to a capital sentence. Makes the applicability of such procedures contingent upon a State establishing a mechanism for the appointment, compensation, and payment of reasonable litigation expenses of competent counsel in State post-conviction proceedings brought by indigent prisoners whose capital convictions and sentences have been upheld on direct appeal to the court of last resort in the State or have otherwise become final for State law purposes. States that the rule of court on statutes establishing such mechanism must provide standards of competency for the appointment of such counsel. Directs that any such mechanism must offer counsel to all State prisoners under capital sentence and must provide for the entry of an order by a court of record: (1) appointing counsel to represent the prisoner upon a specified finding; (2) finding that the prisoner has rejected the offer of counsel and made the decision with an understanding of its legal consequences; or (3) denying the appointment of counsel upon a finding that the prisoner is not indigent. Provides for a mandatory stay of execution during the post-conviction review initiated pursuant to this Act. Details conditions which will cause such stay to expire. Prohibits a Federal court, if one of such conditions has occurred, from entering a stay of execution or granting relief in a capital case unless: (1) the basis for the stay and request for relief is a claim not previously presented in the State or Federal courts; (2) the failure to raise the claim was the result of State action in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States, was the result of a recognition by the Supreme Court of a new Federal right that is retroactively applicable, or is due to the fact that the claim is based on facts that could not have been discovered through the exercise of reasonable diligence in time to present the claim for State or Federal post-conviction review; and (3) the facts underlying the claim would be sufficient, if proven, to undermine the court's confidence in the jury's determination of guilt on the offense for which the death penalty was imposed. Imposes time limits on filing for habeas corpus relief. Requires such time limits to be tolled under specified conditions. Requires the district court, upon the development of a complete evidentiary record, to rule on the merits of the claims properly before it. Makes the requirement for a certificate of probable cause inapplicable, with exceptions, where: (1) a second or successive petition is filed; and (2) certain requirements under a unitary review procedure (i.e., a State procedure that authorizes a person under sentence of death to raise, in the course of direct review of judgment, such claims as could be raised on collateral attack) are met. Subtitle B: General Habeas Corpus Reform - Amends the Federal judicial code to prohibit consideration of a habeas corpus claim by a State prisoner unless actual prejudice resulted from the denial of a Federal right and: (1) State action precluded assertion of the right; (2) the Federal right asserted was newly recognized; (3) the factual basis of the claim could not have been discovered through the exercise of reasonable diligence prior to the procedural default; or (4) a constitutional violation asserted in the claim probably resulted in a factually erroneous conviction or a sentence predicated on an erroneous factual determination. Establishes a one-year statute of limitations for habeas corpus actions brought by State prisoners. Vests authority to issue certificates for probable cause for appeal of habeas corpus orders exclusively in the courts of appeals. Permits denial on the merits of habeas corpus writs notwithstanding the failure to exhaust State remedies. Prohibits the granting of a habeas corpus writ with respect to any claim which has been fully and fairly adjudicated in State proceedings. Sets forth provisions regarding the appointment of counsel. Subtitle C: Exclusionary Rule - Amends the Federal criminal code to bar the exclusion of evidence obtained as a result of a search or seizure carried out under circumstances justifying an objectively reasonable belief that it was in conformity with the fourth amendment. Specifies that evidence shall not be excluded on the ground that it was obtained in violation of a statute, an administrative rule or regulation, or a rule of procedure unless exclusion is expressly authorized by statute or by a rule prescribed by the Supreme Court pursuant to statutory authority. Title VIII: Criminal Alien Justice Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) agents and officers to carry firearms and make arrests. Revises the definition of "aggravated felony" for purposes of such Act. Includes among the classes of aliens ineligible to receive visas and excluded from U.S. entry an alien who: (1) is in illicit possession of a controlled substance; and (2) has been convicted of an aggravated felony. Subjects such aliens to summary exclusion. Subjects an alien convicted of an aggravated felony to an expedited summary deportation proceeding. Requires Federal and State courts to notify the INS upon sentencing an alien to an aggravated felony. Bars aliens who are aggravated felons and other criminal aliens from: (1) asylum; (2) a judicial recommendation against deportation; and (3) a deportation waiver based on length of U.S. domicile, family hardship, good moral character, and specified other grounds. Title IX: Justice System Integrity and Accountability - Subtitle A: Public Corruption - Amends the Federal criminal code to prescribe penalties to be imposed against anyone who defrauds the inhabitants of the United States, Indian country, or a State or political subdivision of: (1) the honest services of a government official or employee; or (2) a fair and impartially conducted election process through the use of fraudulent ballots or voter registration forms, paying or offering to pay any person for voting, the filing of fraudulent campaign reports, intimidating or coercing an individual to vote (or decline to vote) or register (or decline to register) to vote, or the unauthorized alteration or substitution of a ballot. Prescribes criminal penalties to be imposed upon any official who: (1) for financial gains uses interstate commerce to defraud the inhabitants of the United States, any State, political subdivision, or Indian tribal government, of the right to have government affairs conducted on the basis of complete, true, and accurate information; or (2) in order to carry out or conceal any scheme or artifice to defraud, discriminates, harasses, or takes adverse action against any employee or official of the United States or any State or political subdivision. Amends mail fraud provisions to prohibit use of any facility of interstate or foreign commerce in the execution of a scheme or artifice to defraud. Makes it a class B felony for a public official to corruptly demand or accept anything of value, personally or for another, in return for: (1) being influenced in the performance or nonperformance of any official act; or (2) being influenced to commit, collude in, or allow the commission of any offense against the United States or any State. Makes it a class B felony for a public official to corruptly give, offer, or promise anything of value, to an official or to another, with intent to: (1) influence any official act; (2) influence such official to commit, collude in, or allow the commission of any offense against the United States or a State; or (3) influence such official to do or omit any act in violation of such official's lawful duty. Grants Federal jurisdiction over an offense under this Act (with respect to narcotics-related corruption) which involves or is intended to further or conceal the illegal importation, manufacture, transportation, or distribution of any controlled substance or controlled substance analogue. Subtitle B: Drug Testing - Requires: (1) the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to establish a program of drug testing of criminal defendants on post-conviction release; and (2) the chief probation officer in each district to arrange for the drug testing of such defendants. Requires, as an explicit condition of probation, parole, or supervised release of a defendant involving a felony or a specified violent or drug offense, that the defendant refrain from any unlawful use of a controlled substance and submit to periodic drug tests. Sets limitations on the authority to require such tests and to take action against a defendant based on test results. Provides for revocation of supervised release by a defendant placed on parole, probation, or post-imprisonment release if such defendant unlawfully uses a controlled substance or refuses to cooperate in drug testing. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to prohibit Federal assistance to any State that has not implemented a drug testing program for targeted classes of arrestees, prisoners, and persons on conditional or supervised release before or after conviction. Directs the Attorney General to promulgate regulations for such program, based in part on scientific and technical standards determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure the reliability and accuracy of test results. Specifies that such regulations may include guidelines or specifications concerning: (1) the classes of persons to be targeted for testing; (2) the drugs to be tested for; (3) the frequency and duration of testing; and (4) the effect of test results in decisions concerning the sentence, conditions to be imposed on release before or after conviction, and the granting, continuation, or termination of such release. Subtitle C: Protection of Witnesses, Jurors, and Court Officers - Increases penalties for obstruction of justice offenses against court officers and jurors and for retaliatory killings of witnesses, victims, and informants. Title X: Amendments Related to Asset Forfeiture, Controlled Substances, and Money Laundering - Subtitle A: Asset Forfeiture - Sets forth provisions regarding the transfer of appropriations from the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund to the Special Forfeiture Fund. Authorizes such transfers on a quarterly basis (currently, at the end of each fiscal year). Amends the Federal judicial code to authorize the Attorney General to warrant clear title to a subsequent purchaser or transferee of forfeited property. Amends the Federal criminal code to provide for the forfeiture of the proceeds of a foreign drug offense, except to the extent of an interest of an owner by reason of any act or omission established by that owner to have been committed or omitted without the knowledge, consent, or willful blindness of the owner. Amends the Federal criminal code and the CSA to: (1) bar the use of bankruptcy proceedings to prevent a criminal forfeiture for violations of such Act; and (2) provide for nonabatement of criminal forfeiture when a defendant dies pending appeal. Amends the CSA to provide for the forfeiture of: (1) personal property used to facilitate a drug offense; and (2) proceeds traceable to conveyances used to facilitate drug violations. Authorizes the Attorney General or Secretary of the Treasury to transfer the forfeited personal property, or the proceeds of the sale of forfeited personal or real property, to a foreign country which participated in the seizure or forfeiture of the property, subject to specified conditions. Amends the CSA to authorize the destruction of dangerous, toxic, or hazardous materials subject to forfeiture. Amends the Federal judicial code to authorize the payment of awards for information or assistance leading to a civil or criminal forfeiture under any law enforced or administered by the Department of Justice. (Under current law, such authority is limited to forfeitures under specified Federal statutes.) Eliminates a restriction on the disposal of judicially forfeited property by the Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Postal Service. Provides that substitute assets will be forfeited by an intermediary who does not retain the laundered property if that person participates in three or more transactions involving $100,000 or more in a 12-month period. Amends the Anti-Smuggling Act of 1935 to: (1) provide for the seizure and forfeiture of vehicles with concealed compartments under specified conditions; and (2) make the existence of any compartment or equipment built or outfitted for smuggling to be prima facie evidence that a vehicle, vessel, or other conveyance is being, has been, or is attempted to be employed in smuggling or in defrauding the revenue of the United States. Authorizes the disclosure of grand jury information for use in connection with civil forfeiture proceedings. Authorizes the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to transfer funds to agencies responsible for carrying out the National Drug Program. Subtitle B: Controlled Substances - Adds certain cocaine and drug conspiracy and attempt offenses committed by juveniles to the list of crimes for which prosecution as an adult is authorized if the Attorney General certifies that there is a substantial Federal interest in the case that justifies adult prosecution. Amends the CSA and Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to define "felony drug offense" as an offense relating to narcotics, marihuana, depressants, or stimulants. Revises recidivist penalty provisions of such Acts to incorporate such term. Provides for: (1) a sentence of mandatory life imprisonment without release and a fine for certain CSA convictions after two or more prior felony drug offense convictions; and (2) a mandatory fine of at least $1,000 for possession of a substance with a cocaine base under specified circumstances. Increases the minimum prison sentence for use of underage persons in illegal drug transactions. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide for innovative intermediate sanctions programs in combination with drug testing, including boot camps, house arrest, electronic monitoring, intensive supervision, and community service. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require the payment of at least a $500 penalty for failure to declare a controlled substance. Provides for enhanced penalties for drug trafficking in Federal prisons. Authorizes funding through January 1, 1992, for Treasury undercover operations under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. Raises the cap for certain discretionary grants under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 for drug and violent crime control programs . Sets forth provisions requiring the fingerprinting and photographing of, and keeping of records and information concerning, juveniles found guilty of specified felony or controlled substances offenses. Repeals provisions establishing procedures for special probation and record expungement for drug possessors. Subtitle C: Money Laundering - Makes changes in the definition of "financial transaction" for purposes of the money laundering statute. Amends the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 to continue the $10,000 cash transaction reporting requirement for another two years. Amends the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 (RFPA) to authorize the transfer of certain financial records to another agency if the transferring agency has reason to believe that the records are relevant to a matter within the jurisdiction of, or appropriate for analysis by, the receiving agency for law enforcement purposes. Prohibits the disclosure of the existence or terms of a geographic targeting order. Makes the RFPA inapplicable to a financial institution providing information that it has reason to believe may be relevant to a Bank Secrecy Act violation. Exempts from liability a financial institution that: (1) ceases to do business with a customer because of suspicious transactions; and (2) discloses in good faith information and records relating to a customer violation of the Bank Secrecy Act. Authorizes the warrantless search of outgoing mail at U.S. borders by the U.S. Customs Service when a customs officer has reasonable cause to suspect that there are monetary instruments being transported in such a letter. Adds certain predicate offenses relating to financial institutions to the Federal money laundering statute. Amends the RFPA to add conforming predicate laundering references to the "insider" exemption under such Act. Subtitle D: Other Provisions - Authorizes the disclosure of cable television subscriber information to a Federal grand jury. Amends the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 to permit an arrest warrant to be issued for a foreign fugitive about to enter the United States. Authorizes State government personnel to assist in court-authorized electronic or wire interceptions. Authorizes providers of electronic communication services to disclose specified information, upon written request, to a governmental entity. Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that an element of an offense that the defendant knew that property was stolen or counterfeit may be established by proof that the defendant, as a result of an official representation as to the nature of the property, believed the property to be stolen or counterfeit. Amends Federal criminal code provisions with respect to the sexual abuse of minors to: (1) include 12- and 13-year-olds within the scope of provisions prohibiting engaging in sexual acts with children; (2) revise the definition of sexual act to include the intentional touching, not through the clothing, of the genitalia of individuals under age 16 with intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, or arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person; and (3) provide enhanced penalties for subsequent offenses. Amends the Bankruptcy code to except from discharge under bankruptcy the payment of restitution under the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982. Title XI: Drug War Bonds - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue: (1) Drug War Bonds for a three-year period with a 12-year maturity date; and (2) Drug War Stamps to evidence payments for or on account of such bonds. Specifies that the difference between the price paid and the amount received on redeeming a Drug War Savings Bond is interest under the Internal Revenue Code. Authorizes a taxpayer to designate a specified portion of any tax overpayment or make cash contributions to the War on Drugs Trust Fund (established by this Act). Authorizes the Attorney General to make expenditures from the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund into the War on Drugs Trust Fund. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the War on Drugs Trust Fund. Transfers to such Fund: (1) proceeds from the sale of Drug War Bonds and stamps; and (2) certain cash contributions and portions of tax overpayments. Prescribes expenditures from the War on Drugs Trust Fund, including the construction of Federal prison facilities and education and rehabilitation programs. Directs the Attorney General to make recommendations to the Congress regarding the merits of privatizing Federal prisons. Title XII: Transportation Safety - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish testing programs for the use, in violation of law or Federal regulation, of controlled substances and of alcohol by individuals performing sensitive safety- or security-related functions for air carriers, motor carriers, rail carriers, pipeline facility operators, and recipients of assistance under the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964. Directs the Secretary to establish only those requirements applicable to foreign air and motor carriers that are consistent with U.S. international obligations, taking into consideration any applicable laws and regulations of foreign countries. Requires the Secretary to conduct a program to reduce illegal drug activities at truck stops. Provides that such program may include security and law enforcement activities at truck stops and educational programs for truck stop operators and operators of commercial motor vehicles. Sets forth provisions with respect to matching of Federal appropriations for such program. Amends the CSA to impose mandatory minimum criminal penalties for the unlawful distribution or possession of controlled substances within 1,000 feet of a truck stop or safety rest area. Prohibits the suspension of a sentence, granting of probation, or eligibility for parole until the individual has served the minimum required sentence under the Federal criminal code for any person who violates this Act after a prior conviction under this Act has become final. Requires the U.S. Sentencing Commission to promulgate specified sentencing guidelines for violations of this Act. Bars multiple enhancements.
![Official portrait of Rep. Ballenger, Cass [R-NC-10]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000104_200.jpg)